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Re: Is there anything I can eat/drink to help w/ newborns co

No, there's nothing you can eat/drink that would help your newborn. The best thing you can do is simply to nurse- you're almost surely producing antibodies to whatever the baby has, and those will come through in the milk.

Do you have a humidifier? That's usually the best thing for a congested baby.

Re: Is there anything I can eat/drink to help w/ newborns co

Sometimes we have to think about how we are putting things, and I include myself in this caution as I do this by mistake all the time. Saying breastfeeding prevents this that or the other is not really accurate.

Breastfeeding does not prevent anything. Breastfeeding is the biologically normal way to feed babies and it is how most people for most of history were fed as infants and young children, and of course colds and other illnesses have always exisited. "Catching" colds is normal, and particularly common if a baby has an older sibling(s) who is more out and about with other kids.

What studies show is that formula feeding causes (or, if you prefer, increases the risk of) abnormal or "sub-optimal' outcomes healthwise, compared to breastfeeding. here is a very long article detailing what studies have found. http://evergreenperinataleducation.c...ng_Nov2013.pdf

Re: Is there anything I can eat/drink to help w/ newborns co

Interesting article! Thanks! I was breastfed for 1 year and had chronic ear infections (still do), to the point where I needed surgery so I definitely believe you when you say it doesn't prevent anything (my mostly formula fed sister has never had an ear infection) but according to that article, I must be a rare case!